MP says he warned his party against wooing Torbay to join Nationals

Updated
March 20, 2013 13:22:00

Richard Torbay this morning resigned from the NSW Parliament and brought forward his departure as Chancellor of the University of New England. The former politician made his announcement via statements and refused interview requests. The Nationals' MP for Coffs Harbour, Andrew Fraser, says he warned his colleagues that taking on Richard Torbay was a bad idea because the former independent speaker had close and ongoing links to the Labor Party.

TANYA NOLAN: At least one state member of the Nationals says he warned the party it was making a big mistake in pre-selecting Richard Torbay for a federal seat.

The MP for Coffs Harbour, Andrew Fraser, says his party should have been suspicious of a candidate with strong and ongoing links to the Labor Party.

Today it emerged that Richard Torbay has not only abandoned plans to enter federal politics, but he's also resigned as a Member of the New South Wales Parliament and as chancellor of the University of New England.

Simon Santow reports.

SIMON SANTOW: Richard Torbay has always been available to talk to the media, but not today.

His resignation from his current job as a state MP, his resignation from his prospective job as a federal politician, and his resignation from his role as chancellor of the University of New England, were all done remotely.

Normally active on social media, Richard Torbay's Twitter account has been disabled, leaving few clues as to why the career politician with the soaring popularity had suddenly opted for a much quieter life.

In a written statement he paid tribute to his wife Rosemary, his children, and extended family.

He said they had been extremely supportive and are his priority.

He went on to write: "I strongly believe that now is the time for them and they have encouraged me to make this decision."

The Nationals say they went to Richard Torbay after receiving information that pre-dated his membership of their political party.

Andrew Fraser sits in the New South Wales Lower House and says he warned his party they were making a big mistake when they wooed Richard Torbay and ultimately pre-selected him to be the Nationals' candidate in the federal seat of New England.

ANDREW FRASER: It's disappointing as far as I'm concerned because of the fact that I think the National Party was wrong in the first place.

We didn't follow our normal procedures; we haven't followed what I would call good politics in relation to the pre-selection process for New England.

SIMON SANTOW: Why do you say that?

ANDREW FRASER: I just believe that in the past we've had grass roots candidates who have been aligned to the National Party. We've had people who we've picked from the community.

This time, we put politics above person.

SIMON SANTOW: And you're paying a price for that?

ANDREW FRASER: The price is being paid, but I still believe that we need to have a good strong candidate in New England.

I hope that we go back to either a community pre-selection or a pre-selection that has integrity, and we want a candidate who can win the seat federally for the Coalition and the Nationals.

SIMON SANTOW: And if it is a community pre-selection, would you expect the community to reject Barnaby Joyce, given he doesn't live in the area?

SIMON SANTOW: The member for Coffs Harbour says his views were ignored when he expressed his concerns.

ANDREW FRASER: I felt that our process was wrong and I advised the Party of that.

The Party opted otherwise, so at the end of the day, 50 per cent plus one is an absolute majority - I did not have that majority.

SIMON SANTOW: Did you have any concerns beyond the process about the character of the person?

ANDREW FRASER: I just had concerns that we would have someone who was an admitted member of the Labor Party, someone who had been given positions by the Labor Party within a government where they had an absolute majority.

I just felt that we had stepped outside our normal process and that at the end of the day, we should have had a very open pre-selection process.

SIMON SANTOW: Do you think that the state director and the state president will learn from this?

ANDREW FRASER: (laughing) I'm not answering that either.

SIMON SANTOW: Andrew Fraser says he has no sympathy for the situation that Richard Torbay now finds himself in.

ANDREW FRASER: Mr Torbay was reputed to have stood candidates against the National Party, both state and federal, for a number of years.

I had concerns in that regard, and at the end of the day, I don't know - I'm not close to Mr Torbay, I know him by observation only - at the end of the day, where he goes from here is his business.

SIMON SANTOW: So when you say "stood candidates against the Party", meaning not just in his own seat, he organised people to oppose the National Party in other seats?

He is reputed to have funded and supported candidates across the board against senior National Party members, including the state leader of the Nationals, myself, and other north coast members.

So pretty hard to then accept him as a member of the team?

It made it very difficult for me to accept that someone who had done that and said so much against the Nationals was now going to run as an endorsed Nationals candidate.

SIMON SANTOW: The ABC sought a response from Richard Torbay but our calls were not returned.